Oregon basketball HC Dana Altman sends confident Big 10 message after Indiana win
Yesterday at 04:53 PM
Despite entering the Big 10 men’s basketball tournament as the No. 8 seed, Oregon continues to be one of the hottest teams in the conference. A dominant 72-59 win over Indiana extended the Ducks’ win streak to eight, giving head coach Dana Altman the ultimate confidence in his team peaking at the right time.
After the win, Altman shrugged off questions about travel concerns, with Oregon flying across four time zones to get to the Big 10 tournament in Indianapolis. The 66-year-old said his team is “used to it” due to it being the Ducks’ fifth cross-country road trip.
“We talked about it before the season, and I told them we’re not going to talk about it anymore,” Altman said in his post-game presser. “We didn’t talk about it one time. I said I don’t want to hear anybody make excuses. I said this after the Wisconsin game — we wanted to be in the Big 10. You guys aren’t moving, and we’re not moving Oregon, so we knew there were going to be trips. Fortunately for us, our school has been great about making sure we can compete.”
Oregon, along with fellow former Pac-12 schools USC, UCLA and Washington, were dealt with one of the nation’s worst travel schedules in 2024-2025. The West Coast teams joining the Midwest-based conference forced the schools to make multiple cross-country trips.
Oregon not only had to make a five-hour flight from Eugene to Indianapolis, but they also had to play the home team in the second round of the Big 10 tournament. Indiana desperately needed a win to keep their March Madness hopes alive but failed to do so in their home state. The 12 p.m. ET start time also made the game a 9 a.m. PT tip-off.
Dana Altman, Oregon basketball advances in Big 10 tournament
With its win over Indiana, Oregon moves on to face top-seeded Michigan State on Friday. As the No. 1 overall seed of the Big 10, the Spartans enjoyed a double-bye and have not played since March 9.
The two teams met once in the regular season, with Michigan State winning 86-74. The win was Oregon’s most recent defeat, as its ensuing victory over Northwestern sparked the team’s current hot stretch. The Spartans opened as slight 4.5-point favorites on most sportsbooks.
Like the first-round game against Indiana, the Ducks will deal with another early tip-off. The Oregon-Michigan State matchup will begin at 12 p.m. ET, making it another 9 a.m. local tip-off time for Altman’s team.
While Oregon is already well within the March Madness pool, success in the Big 10 tournament will be key to avoiding further travel nightmares. A few more victories would guarantee the Ducks a spot in the West region, preventing them from potentially making another cross-country trip.
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